part of the city that never sleeps is in the dark. the wall of a four story building collapsed in manhattan exposing apartments inside. no one was injured. at least seven storm related deaths have been reported in connecticut, maryland and five in new york including three children. public transportation for more than 12 million people came to a halt in new york, flil and washington, d.c. when the eye of the storm passed over atlantic city the winds abated and clouds parted and full moon came out. 60 million people will be impacted by this storm. fema has pledged over 3 beaten $5 billion for the cleanup if necessary. >> carolyn: and it's not just wind and rain punishing people. schools are closed in south carolina and blizzard warnings in west virginia. sandhya patel is here to show us

where the storm is. >> check out doppler radar. you will see this storm is covering a large part of the east coast. there is snow falling right now and rain continues to batter the east coast. we'll show you where the snow is falling right now. it is extending from colombia, ohio, down to west virginia. blizzard warnings are up and expecting two to three feet by wednesday morning. this is post tropical cyclone sandy. it did make landfall near atlantic city earlier this evening. you see the bands of rain continuing to move in. right now i sti is still windy n atlantic city. peak wind gusts to 46 miles an york and the battery in actually peak water level was 13.88 feet. that is all-time record. this system will continue to work its way up to the northwest and to the north, but the

effects of it in the form of rain and snow will continue all the way through wednesday, possibly even beyond. we have rain coming to the bay area. i'll be back with live doppler 7-hd. >> carolyn: members of the california national guard are headed east. 88 troops took off in transport planes at moffett field. they will report to north carolina and be knriopd in there. red cross has cancelled hundred blood drives on the east coast and to help make up for the blood loss there are several blood drives taking place here this week. we'll let you know where to go on our website. >> dan: the storm is massive. as a result. thousands of flights were cancelled because of it including more than 150 at sfo. lilian kim caught up with passengers who might not make it out until the etd of the week at the earliest. >> reporter: that's right.

people from the east coast have been forced to take an extended vacation. >> hotels have been busy the past couple days. a couple from boston flew in from hawaii but connecting flightas c was cancelled. >> we had the tsunami warnings stow i evacuation from honolulu. earliest flight is thursday but they are making the most of their stay. they plan to visit fisherman's wharf and golden gate bridge. giants win. >> but for others, staying is not an option. a doctor has patients scheduled for chemotherapy. >> only way we could figure out how to get home before wednesday was to fly to st. louis through denver with a three hour layover and then drive to massachusetts 20-22 hours. it's a mess.

it's a mess. i just hope we're safe driving. >> erin can't wait for her flight in the morning. her original flight was cancelled sunday night. none of this has been fun for her. >> yesterday i spent the whole day getting my meds. i didn't have meds. i had to take care of a lot of running around because i was stuck. >> reporter: because this is weather-related delay and not a mechanical one, passengers will end up footing the hotel bill. >> carolyn: for up to the date information on flight cancellations and delays go to flight tracker on the front page of our website at abc7news.com. there is growing outrage tonight on twitter in response to to this hurricane ad from american apparel. they are offering 20% off for people in ten states hardest hit by sandy. hundreds of people are tweeting against the company saying it's

try to profit from a disaster. stay tuned for a one hour edition from "nightline" from the extreme weather team as they report from the front lines. >> dan: giants are back in town after an incredible world series win in detroit. plans are being made for a massive parade. they united with a water salute. live at civic center plaza where the giants will celebrate this wednesday. it's going to be a blast. >> reporter: absolutely. the grandstands are definitely going up across from city hall in preparation for wednesday's victory parade for the giants, today the first chance to welcome the team home. >> when the giants rounded the corner at at&t park fresh from world series victory, they gotbg big hero's welcome from the fans and outfielder hunter pence couldn't believe it. >> incredible.

fans do it right. they've been amazing, all playoffs all season long. >> moments after arriving, pablo sandoval grabbed the world series trophy and ran to cheer with fans handing oit off to sergio romo. victory is so sweet for this team after many critics counted them out. >> you overcome so much adversity and it's great. >> big win in detroit was something amazing and personal. she had her infant son piled them in the car for the homecoming. >> even if you aren't a fan all year round how could you not get excited now. >> and then chad, who tattooed some history on his right calf

and plans another one for his left. >> i'm actually working on the tattoo this week. hopefully i'll have more. >> back live with a shot of city hall with a lot of other buildings in san francisco, basking in the orange glow of victory. preparations underway for the giants victory parade on halloween. >> dan: good stuff. you can watch the parade live at 11:00 a.m. right here on abc7. we'll stream it live at abc7news.com and on our ipad. parade will start at foot of market street and move up the street to civic center plaza just like it did two years ago back in 2010. >> carolyn: mass transit is offering help, bart will be offering a rush hour schedule all day long, longer trains and more of them. caltrain and muni will run extra

trains. it will force muni reroute many downtown bus lines. golden gate ferry is offering additional service. we all have this at abc7news.com. >> dan: a local school could have lost a teacher to budget cuts. >> carolyn: michael finney is here to telling you about pro-active parents.>> >> parents at sunny side elementary were not about to take it lying down so they turned to the internet. up next, she helped save a teachers job and you can too at your school. >> dan: facebook employees deny why dozens of instant millionaires will have to wait

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>> carolyn: on this age of budget cuts, school education is ongoing challenge in the community. >> now a new tool and it is catching on. >> carolyn: michael finney explains how it works. >> here is the word, crowd cloud

funding. social media and communities to get attached. in san francisco a local elementary school is using the technique to raise money after an unexpected financial shortfall. >> this is sunny side elementary in san francisco. like many public schools, there are lessons to be learned here aboutoney money. >> dollar, ten dollars. >> navigating the world of money is being learned in this classroom and also in the principal's office where state money came in $40,000 less than expected. >> we had an unexpected short fall relative to what we anticipated. i reached outool our school community for some problem g. one of the best ideas that came out of that was this.

>> here it is. they will fund.com a fund-raising website. those looking for donations put up a web page with pictures and text and make their case for donations. sunny side was looking at losing a classroom instructor.>> it >> it started about a month ago but we've been doing great. we didn't expect it. >> look at the for numbers, the money raised and $40,000 needed. the site takes a 5% cut of the take. rest of the money goes to the school. so who is donating? parents, grandparents, local businesses. >> we've had a few people donate >> at social media fund-raising set let go fund me, it can link up with facebook and word can

get around in different ways and we can have opportunities for people who are less connected with the school to help us in our efforts. >> reporter: the website has become a touch stone for the school community and others who just want to help out. >> what i see when i this at this, how a community can get together and we have budget shortfalls. california has approximate with funding with public schools. as a community and parents we can make sure our schools have what we need. >> reporter: there are other websites that offer similar services. if you would like donate or set up a web page, i have links. >> dan: great way to harness social media site. >> carolyn: let's get a check on the weather. certainly we have been following hurricane sandy. >> dan: causing problems. millions are without power. meteorologist sandhya patel is

tracking it. >> it's going to be days before the storm is out of the way. as we look at doppler radar, snow falling over the mountains. heavy wet snow, two to three feet.blizzard warnin blizzard warnings are up for the mountains. they have seen heavy snow with the gusty winds. rain continues to fall with the post tropical storm sandy so we'll continue to watch it. expecting four to eight inches, possibly up to a foot. we bring you back to the bay area and things are quieter in terms of the live doppler. no rain to speak of but certainly watching fog and temperatures at this hour are in the 50s. 61 degrees in antioch.e'relity e concerned about. check out the fog. dropping visibility, just over a mile now. so you will have to watch out for that morning commute.

here are the forecast highlights. dense fog overnight. sunny and mild in the afternoon. late halloween, we'll talk about that in a moment yet. dense fog advisory for interior valleys from midnight that is going up 9:00 a.m. visibility is expected to be less than eighth of mile. when you head out the door tomorrow, you will likely see fog, not just near the coast but in parts of the bay around the east bayshore, also in the north bay. this is where you will likely encounter some fog. give yourself a little more time as you head out the door tomorrow morning. make sure you bundle up. it is going to be on the cool side. upper 40s to mid-50s with that dense fog.almost like pea soup e areas. here is what is going to replace the fog. we'll get sunshine in the afternoon. rain arrives wednesday evening. this is the cold front that will bring us the rain. right now the computer animation bringing you just clouds at 1:00 p.m. watch this front.

it starts to slide into the north bay come around 7:00, 8:00 in the evening. so trick-or-treaters will want to get out early enough. this is computer animation and anything can change. it will continue to slide south and east around midnight. by 5:00 a.m., wet weather across the entire bay area. 5:00 a.m. thursday. as showers continue to develop behind the storm system. tomorrow afternoon, mild day, temperatures will be in the mid to upper 70s inland valleys with sunshine, 72 in palo alto. 73 for you in san jose. mid-70s in napa and santa rosa. fog will burn away and nice day around the monterey. 75 in santa cruz. 78 degrees in morgan hill. nice, mild weather. san francisco giants parade. 10:00 a.m. on wednesday. mid-50s. 60 degrees. trick-or-treaters, cloudy by 4:00 and chance of rain

especially in the north bay by 7:00 p.m. seven-day forecast, we'll keep the showers going for your thursday morning and then we dry out and warm it up for your weekend and beyond that. mike nicco will be here from 4:30 to 7:00 with complete updates and tracking that front fo dan: you. >> dan: coming up next, facebook employees have waited a long time for this day. alright let's break it down. mom, pop it. ♪

two inches apart, becky. two inches. t-minus nine minutes. [ ding ] [ female announcer ] pillsbury cinnamon rolls. let the making begin. ♪ too bad the guys aren't here we're clear. ok, swarm! swarm! hello [ female announcer ] pillsbury chocolate chip cookies. let the making begin >> dan: sandy may be on the east coast but after facebook. >> they watched their stock slide. employees are were able to cash

in today when the trading block expired. >> they will have to wait because the nasdaq and stock exchange were closed until wednesday because of the storm. >> they will still get that i pay day. we're talking football tonight. >> numbers tell the story and jim harbaugh has all message for all the critics. as the classic.

good evening, who are you calling game manager. alex smith was near perfect as the 49ers paid a visit to the

desert. one drop kept him from perfection. on the not top. there is game manager, alex smith to michael crabtree. niners up 7-0. check out concentration, deflected pass and makes the grab. got both feet down, nice catch. setting up another touchdown. zooming into the end zone, niners up 17-0. smith up at the half. randy moss, vintage moss. runs 47 yards, second touchdown of the year. smith went of 18 to 19 for touchdowns touchdowns and showing up angry. as the niners crush the cardinals 24-3 and improve to 6-2. jim harbaugh was asking about the perception that smith lacked

confidence at times. >> i don't think there was a question there. i think it's gobble, gobble turkey. just gobble, gobble turkey, some jive turkey gobblers. >> that is the nature of the n.f.l. it's the nature of professional sports. we only play once a week and all those days in between. >> gobble, gobble, turkey. world champion giants fans lined the streets to get a glimpse of their heroes. the team that would never give up celebrating second world series title in past three seasons. they will get sleep this evening and get ready for the parade on wednesday. >> they are so special. you try to catch up eventually but right now the boys are still talking about what happened. and we were celebrating.

we had a great time. i think they got some needed rest and will rest up couple days there and enjoy wednesday's parade. away world away, golf in china, tiger woods with a stare down with mcllroy. 18-hole exhibition, tiger on 7. rolling this ball to the pin would settle for a birdie. mcllroy shot a 67. he ties it by a stroke. million dollars for an appearance, tiger made $2 million, more than a hundred thousand dollars a hole. that is good money if you can get it. abc7 sports brought to you by river rock casino. >> that would be good compensation package. gobble, gobble turkey.

no kidding. >> carolyn: thanks, larry. >> dan: thanks for being with us. >> for all of us, thanks for joining darkness. >> reporter: the water started to overtake the dunes. at that point we felt we had to move our trucks because the water was coming in onto the streets not just in the areas by the beach but actually flooding some of the city's streeting. so we decided to move a half mile away. we were broadcasting and all of a sudden the water crept up behind us there. >> now, the national guard and other firefighters spent much of the night rescuing people who

refused to obey evacuation orders. >> and now sandy is plowing further inland. >> for a look at the weather today accuweather meteorologist mancuso joins us. >> the impact is being felt farther west. here in the midwest over toward cleveland, detroit, and even chicago we're seeing strong winds. cleveland winds gusting to 50 to 70 miles an hour. there could be some power outaging in the midwest and rain changes to snow in the ohio valley. meanwhile back here in the east we're still dealing with sandy. the flow around it is keeping the water levels high around the coastal areas and it does look like those waters that have moved inland will be slow to drain out with flow moving south. the rain will taper off but the wind gusts will stay with us throughout the day. winds today gusting, say, 30 to

50 miles an hour. yesterday, 70 and 90-mile-an-hour wind gusts. still quite windy here. surges, though, will be a loss less today. yes, look at that. that's all rain and snow here in the midwest. that cold air spiring around the system. we've had reports of a foot. about 9 inches of snow. rainfall up to 9 inches across northern portions of virginia and maryland. of course, these waters will be slow to recede the next couple of days an we'll be watching the waters coming down the rivls the next couple of days. we're still dealing with the aftereffects. >> all about the aftermath. sounds like you said that the worst is over, but what kind of effects will we see maybe like in the country in the midwest? >> the midwest, united states, is going to be very windy,

indianapolis, chicago, cleveland, detroit, cincinnati. a very windy, chilly day. snow and chill in the air. parts of ohio and into kentucky we could see just a minor accumulation, but near the lakeshores, the waters will be piling up. already reports of 20 feet on lake michigan. could see some waves crashing into the shores on the south side here, 20 to 30 feet in lake michigan and lake erie. midwest looking like a blustery, nasty day. >> before this made landfall, this storm seemingly crushed irene. there really is no comparison, right? >> there's no comparison. i guess you could say, this is kind of like new york city's katrina. just devastating impacts here. this historic surge, 13 feet, all that water coming on in and the high wind gusts. worst-case scenario did pan out here unfortunately. >> all right.

mark mann cue sew from accuweather. the airlines trying to get back to normalcy and what the red cau cross is doing to help out. >> plus more incredible rescues that didn't have to happen. we'll be right back. en. we'll be right back. >> announcer: "america this morning" brought to you by 5 hour energy. 5-hour energy supports the avon foundation for women breast cancer crusade. so i can get the energized feeling i need and support a great cause? i'm sold. pink lemonade 5-hour energy? yeah and a portion of every sale goes to the avon foundation for women breast cancer crusade. i'm sold. new pink lemonade 5-hour energy. get the alert, energized feeling you need and support breast cancer research and access to care.

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new york city subways every day, and this morning the entire system is shut down. seven subway tunnels under the east river are flooded, and the electricity that powers -- runs the system is turned off to contain the saltwater damage. getting the trains up and running again will be a massive undertaking. >> it could be anywhere between 14 hours to four days just to pump the water out. and then we have to, you know, inspect every inch of rail, inspect all of the infrastructure down there to make sure that we can provide safe service. so, needless to say, this is going to be a pretty lengthy process. >> now, the head of the mta says this is the worst disaster in the 108-year history of the city system. the subways and buses are out of operation indefinitely. we did that interview. there really is no concrete time line for getting the system back up and running. and as the subway goes, so goes the city. that's a major, major system to deal with in the storm's aftermath.

>> largest rapid transit system -- >> -- in the country. >> yep. and more disruption to air travel today. flightaware.com, says 5,700 flights are canceled because of the hurricane. 7,800 didn't leave the gate yesterday. and it may take a wile for airlines to recover from hurricane sandy due to the damage to the infrastructure and a lack of available seats later this week. also the red cross is mounting a massive relief effort to help the millions in the storm's path. >> earlier we spoke with tamara braunstein about what's being done right now. >> 3,200 people spent monday night in the shelter. we have more than 112 shelters open across nine states right now, and we are expecting that number to grow until -- we're just trying to provide emotional support and make sure people are fed and having their safety needs met, at least in the short term. >> now, the red cross is asking for both blood donations and financial contributions. for more information, you can

log on to redcross.org. and when we come back this morning, assessing the damage at eight nuclear facilities that were in sandy's path. plus, no part of the eastern seaboard was untouched, from cape cod to the carolinas. we'll get a live update. stay with us. >> announcer: "america's money" brought to you by aqua fresh extreme clean. get ready for a feeling of clean like nothing else. extreme clean from aquafresh. it showers your whole mouth with rich micro-active foam. thousands of germ-killing bubbles seek out hard to reach places and help kill the sources of bad breath then rinse clean away leaving a cool tingling that just won't quit extreme clean from aquafresh. take the feeling of clean to the extreme.

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[ male announcer ] and it's not just these owners giving the volt high praise. volt received the j.d. power and associates appeal award two years in a row. ♪ welcome back, everybody. some breaking news now in our continuing coverage of hurricane sandy. this from the borough of queens, new york, where a fire there has destroyed at least 50 homes. no word yet on exactly what sparked the fire. strong winds, though, from the storm are making it difficult for the nearly 200 firefighters on the scene to fight those

flames. we'll keep you updated throughout the morning on that developing scene. but imagine that. 50 homes. wow! >> it's all going to be about the aftermath this morning. ocean city, maryland, also took a major hit in the storm. tahman bradley is there this morning watching things up and down the coast for us at this hour. good morning, tahman. >> reporter: well, good morning to you, paula. things have actually let up a bit here in ocean city, but it's still very cold. sandy is the monster that we all feared. it's going to take days to determine the devastation. but we know that millions of americans wake up this morning impacted. along the east coast this morning, signs of sandy's fury. lady liberty's torch is out as power outages spread. nearly 5 million people this morning are in the door. more than 1.5 million were forced to evacuate. sandy made landfall along the new jersey coast, bringing 80-mile-per-hour winds and flooding. high tides and rough surf battered the coastline. >> oh, my god. it's washing everything away. >> reporter: this morning, entire sections of atlantic city, new jersey, are completely under water.

people who decided to ride out the storm were left stranded last night. the new jersey governor announced no rescue services until today. >> i cannot in good conscience send them into the dark, given all the various hazards that would occur. >> reporter: new york city was hit by a 13-foot surge of sea water, flooding the newly-unveiled ground zero memorial, subway stations, and tunnels. in rockaway park, queens, emergency crews scrambled to rescue people trapped in the path of a fire raging out of control. in manhattan hundreds of patients at this hospital, including babies, had to be evacuated after a backup generator failed. the city closed all tunnels and bridges. subway and bus service had already been shut down. the stock exchange is closed again today, the first time weather has caused it to close for a second consecutive day since the 1800s. sandy spawned flooding in west virginia and flooding as far west as chicago. here in ocean city we've been

getting freezing rainfall on and off, and part of the downtown area is flooded, rob and paula. >> all right. now, tahman, you are in ocean city. are people stranded? were they given evacuation orders? >> reporter: people were given evacuation orders, but a lot of people are stuck here. a lot of the streets are flooded. there was a main bridge that was shut down. the weather was very intense here. a lot of people, really, with no place to go and just having to hunker down and stay here. >> all right. tahmam bradley in ocean city this morning. you're much warmer and drier than you were yesterday. >> thank god for small favors. right? >> reporter: a lot better. as the storm blows across the northeast, there are eight nuclear power plants in the storm's weather path. oyster creek had an alert after water rose to six feet above normal. the plant, which is the oldest in the country, was already offline for maintenance, and officials there say there is no real danger.

the philadelphia area also took a big hit with more than 400,000 people losing power there, and it could take a week to get all that power fully restored. wow, that's not what they want to hear. heavy rain battered the city as well as winds up to 70 miles an hour. philadelphia schools, municipal offices, and mass transit will remain shut down at least through today. also, residents in one town in new jersey who refused to evacuate had to be carried to higher ground last night. the water in weehawken had gone as high as the second story in some homes. one boy said the water was at his neck and then over his head before he was finally rescued. also a woman was taken to safety in the make-believe coffin that she had been using as a halloween decoration. a little bit of irony in that. huh? wow! >> just slightly. well, this house near the famous kennedy compound in high

annisport, massachusetts, was destroyed monday afternoon. officials in massachusetts say they are relieved that the state dodged a direct hit from sandy. and aside from all the rain and the high wind, sandy also proved to be quite a snowmaker, dumping up to 3 feet of snow in seven states from the appalachians to the ohio valley. and west virginia is now getting the worst of it with more than a foot falling yesterday alone. and some guys will do just about anything to catch a wave. surf's up. those guys got out their boards and wet suits and hats, and, well, they went for it yesterday on lake erie. yes, the midwest. freshwater temperature, 56 degrees. the waves grew later in the day. some could be 15 and 20 feet. make sure you stay with us. much more of the perfect storm right after this. tay with us. much more of the perfect storm, right after this. living with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis

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and the west coast is pitching in to help in the wake of sandy. they're heading east. their mission is to rescue stranded hurricane victims and deliver supplies to isolated communities. they will set up in a staging area in south carolina. again, this impacting people from south carolina all the way north up to main. >> but in tragedy the nation comes together time and time again. here we go. and probably to the surprise of absolutely no one, sandy is dominated social media. plenty of pictures out there on facebook and twitter and here's some that got our attention over the last few hours.

you know this place well. >> this is actually a carousel close to the brooklyn bridge. right next to the carousel there's a nice green area and a small little beach. but as you can see, it's all a beach now and the horses are under water, not as they should be. >> and, of course, one of the problems in new york and up and down the east coast, flooded streets. i mean literally you see these streets turned into rivers. that storm surge, also so dangerous, is taking over the city. >> i think i see steps. i think these are steps down to one of the subway stations, but i'm not really sure. it's abstract art. so read into it what you want. >> leave it up to your individual interpretation. another example of flooded streets here. if you look to the side of that vehicle, that's actually an nypd van out there. you see how high the water really got. >> yeah. and this is not what the new york taxi cab situation should look like there, submerged right there. >> the yellow cab, an icon.

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updating our top stories now, the aftermath of sandy. new york city fire officials say at least 50 homes have been destroyed in one flooded area of queens, heavy winds there whipping up those flames. >> and it could be days before the new york city subway is running again. seven flooded subway tunnels will have to be pumped out and inspected. some 476,000 customers lost power. it could be a week before power is fully restored. >> a long week. also part of atlantic city history was carried away by sandy's raging waters. an old section of the city's famed boardwalk was lost to the ocean, and people are bracing for one more high tide before the coast is cleared. >> southern new england also took a pounding from the storm with winds reaching 84 miles an hour. finally this morning a dramatic rescue off north carolina in the middle of the storm. high speed internet at home

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>> stay with us. >> for more on the latest on sandy. breaking overnight, the perfect storm. the east coast takes a direct hit from sandy. >> the deadly super storm knocking out power to millions, crippling with a wall of water and a massive power outage. overnight hospitals evacuated, a damaged crane dangling 90 stores up, what a long night it's been, and daylight will reveal so much more. >> a special edition of "america this morning" the perfect storm begins right now. and good morning, everyone. we begin straight away. more than a dozen deaths are

being blamed on sandy right now. and that number is likely to rise. >> some 5 million people are without power so far from all along the eastern seaboard into the midwest. today also stock markets will be closed again for a second straight day, a continuation of their first unplanned shutdown since the 9/11 attacks. and at this hour, there is breaking news from queens, new york, where as many as 50 homes have been destroyed by fire. the heavy winds are making it extremely difficult to battle the flames. nearly 200 firefighters were called to the scene trying to rescue people. no word yet on what set off those fires. >> you have to wonder if maybe downed power lines played a role. we'll see. also the outer boroughs of new york city also hit following sandy's record storm surge as it came ashore just to the south in the state of new jersey.

dunes and sand berms were no match for the 15-foot waves. new york's rivers surging over seawalls and into the streets of lower manhattan, flooding tunnels and forcing bridges to close in the storm. it was too much for one apartment building in manhattan. its entire facade collapsed. already the storm is being estimated at up to $20 billion. all right. let's get outside right now. the streets here in new york mostly vacant. here's a look, in fact, at iconic times square. >> but city officials have been responding to a major emergency at a nearby hospital as well as trying to assess the flooding. abc's scott goldberg is watching it, and he's on the phone here in manhattan. >> good morning to you. first, the emergency situation overnight. the nyu medical center here in manhattan, one of the nation's largest hospitals evacuated after the backup generator failed. more than 200 patients, including 20 babies at the

neonatal intensive care unit had to be evacuated. some patients being treated for cancer and other serious illnesses had to be carried carefully down staircases because elevators are out. we want to show you a picture from above showing you the line of balances waiting outside the hospital. an incredible scene overnight. much of new york city plunged into darkness at an electrical station. it was an eerie seen as the manhattan skies went dark. the underground power lines are so difficult to access. in the meantime at first light we'll get a first look. a record 13-foot storm surge overflowed the city's historic water flood, flooding the financial area. and the subway. the city's mass transit system, schools, and stock exchange remain closed today. rob and paula, back to you.

>> scott goldberg here on a wet and storm-weary new york. thanks a lot. parts of new jersey remains under water after that monstrous storm surge along the coast. sandy made landfall, powerful surf crashed into atlantic city's famous boardwalk, washing away a 300-yard section of it. floodwaters also filled up along towns, along the popular jersey shores. they plunged into darkness. abc's steve is in the thick of things. >> reporter: the water started to overtake the dunes. at that point we felt we had to move our trucks because the water was coming in onto the streets, not just in the areas right by the beach, but actually flooding some of the city's streets. so we decided to move a half mile away and rebase. we were broadcasting and all of a sudden the water crept up behind us there. >> now, the national guard and other firefighters spent much of the night rescuing people who refused to obey evacuation orders.

>> and now sandy is plowing further inland. >> for a look at the conditions we can expect today, accuweather meteorologist mancuso joins us. good morning to you, mark. >> good morning to you. the impact is being felt farther west. here in the midwest over toward cleveland, detroit, and even chicago is seeing strong winds. cleveland winds gusting to 50 to 70 miles an hour. there could be some power outaging in the midwest and rain changes to snow in the ohio valley. meanwhile back here in the east we're still dealing with sandy. the flow around it is keeping the water levels high around the coastal areas and it does look like those waters that have moved inland will be slow to drain out with that flow mooming south around the backside of sandy. the rain will taper off, but the

wind gusts will stay with us throughout the day.the rain wile wind gusts will stay with us throughout the dasandy. the rain will taper off, but the wind gusts will stay with us throughout the day. perhaps one to two feet. and ye winds today gusting, say, 30 to 50 miles an hour. yesterday, 70 and 90-mile-an-hour wind gusts. still quite windy here. surges, though, will be a loss less today. yes, look at that. that's all rain and snow here in the midwest. that cold air spiring around the system. we've had reports of a foot plus. about 9 inches of snow. rainfall up to 9 inches across northern portions of virginia and maryland. of course, these waters will be slow to recede the next couple of days, and we'll be watching the waters coming down the rivers the next couple of days. we're still dealing with the aftereffects. >> all about the aftermath. people are waking up and seeing all the destruction. sounds like you said that the worst is over, but what kind of effects will we see maybe like in the country like the midwest? >> the midwest, united states, is going to be very windy, indianapolis, chicago, cleveland, detroit, cincinnati.

winds gusting 30, 50 miles an hour, even higher around detroit. a very windy, chilly day. snow and chill in the air. parts of ohio and into kentucky we could see just a minor accumulation, but near the lakeshores, the waters will be piling up. already reports of waves of about 20 feet on lake michigan. could see some waves crashing into the shores on the south side here, 20 to 30 feet in lake michigan and also lake erie. midwest looking like a blustery, nasty day. >> before this made landfall, the big question is how is this going to compare to hurricane irene. by any maeshs, this storm seemingly crushed irene. there really is no comparison, right? >> there's no comparison. i guess you could say, this is kind of like new york city's katrina. just devastating impacts here. this historic surge, 13 feet, all that water coming on in and the high wind gusts. worst-case scenario did pan out here unfortunately. >> all right.

mancuso from accuweather. thanks for joining us, mark. straight ahead, the airlines trying to get back to normalcy and what the red cross is doing to help out. plus, more incredible video across the storm zone, plus some rescues that didn't have to happen. we'll be right back. >> announcer: "america this morni morning's" weather brought to you by 5 hour energy. for women breast cancer crusade. so i can get the energized feeling i need and support a great cause? i'm sold. pink lemonade 5-hour energy? yeah and a portion of every sale goes to the avon foundation for women breast cancer crusade. i'm sold. new pink lemonade 5-hour energy. get the alert, energized feeling you need and support breast cancer research and access to care.

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system is shut down. seven subway tunnels under the east river are flooded, and the electricity that powers -- runs the system is turned off to contain the saltwater damage. getting the trains up and running again will be a massive undertaking. >> it could be anywhere between 14 hours to four days just to pump the water out. and then we have to, you know, inspect every inch of rail, inspect all of the infrastructure down there to make sure that we can provide safe service. so, needless to say, this is going to be a pretty lengthy process. >> now, the head of the mta says this is the worst disaster in the 108-year history of the city system. the subways and buses are out of operation indefinitely. we did that interview. there really is no concrete time line for getting the system back up and running. and as the subways go, so goes the city. that's a major, major system to

deal with in the storm's aftermath. >> largest rapid transit system -- >> -- in the country. >> yep. and more disruption to air travel today. flightaware.com, says 5,700 flights are canceled, most of them because of the hurricane. 7,800 didn't leave the gate yesterday. and it may take a wile for airlines to recover from hurricane sandy due to the damage to the infrastructure and a lack of available seats later this week. also the red cross is mounting a massive relief effort to help the millions in the storm's path. >> earlier question -- we spoke with public affairs officer tamara brawnstein about what's being done right now. >> 3,200 people spent monday night in the shelter. we have more than 112 shelters open across nine states right now, and we are expecting that number to grow until -- we're just trying to provide emotional support and make sure people are fed and having their safety needs met, at least in the short term. >> now, the red cross is asking for both blood donations and financial contributions.

for more information, you can log on to redcross.org. and when we come back this morning, assessing the damage at eight nuclear facilities that were in sandy's path. plus, no part of the eastern seaboard was untouched from cape cod to the carolinas. we'll get a live update. stay with us. >> announcer: "america's money" brought to you by aquafresh extreme clean. get ready for a feeling of clean like nothing else. extreme clean from aquafresh. it showers your whole mouth with rich micro-active foam. thousands of germ-killing bubbles seek out hard to reach places and help kill the sources of bad breath then rinse clean away leaving a cool tingling that just won't quit extreme clean from aquafresh. take the feeling of clean to the extreme.

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[ male announcer ] and it's not just these owners giving the volt high praise. volt received the j.d. power and associates appeal award two years in a row. ♪ welcome back, everybody. some breaking news now in our continuing coverage of hurricane sandy. this from the borough of queens, new york, where a fire there has destroyed at least 50 homes. no word yet on exactly what sparked the fire. strong winds, though, from the storm are making it difficult for the nearly 200 firefighters on the scene to fight those flames. we'll keep you updated throughout the morning on that developing scene. but imagine that. 50 homes.

wow! >> it's all going to be about the aftermath this morning. and ocean city, maryland, also took a major hit in this storm. tahman bradley is there this morning watching things up and down the coast for us at this hour. good morning, tahman. >> reporter: well, good morning to you, paula. things have actually let up a bit here in ocean city, but it's still very cold. sandy is the monster that we all feared. it's going to take days to determine the devastation. but we know that millions of americans wake up this morning impacted. along the east coast this morning, signs of sandy's fury. lady liberty's torch is out as power outages spread. nearly 5 million people this morning are in the dark. more than 1.5 million were forced to evacuate. sandy made landfall along the new jersey coast, bringing 80-mile-per-hour winds and flooding. high tides and rough surf battered the coastline. >> oh, my god. it's washing everything away. >> reporter: this morning, entire sections of atlantic city, new jersey, are completely under water. people who decided to ride out the storm were left stranded

last night. the new jersey governor announced no rescue services until today. >> i cannot in good conscience send them into the dark, given all the various hazards that would occur. >> reporter: new york city was hit by a 13-foot surge of seawater, flooding the newly unveiled ground zero memorial, subway stations, and tunnels. in rockaway park, queens, emergency crews scrambled to rescue people trapped in the path of a fire raging out of control. in manhattan hundreds of patients at this hospital, including babies, had to be evacuated after a backup generator failed. the city closed all tunnels and bridges. subway and bus service had already been shut down. the stock exchange is closed again today, the first time weather has caused it to close for a second consecutive day since the 1800s. sandy spawned snowstorms in west virginia and fear of flooding as far west as chicago.

here in ocean city we've been getting freezing rainfall on and off, and part of the downtown area is flooded, rob and paula. >> all right. now, tahman, you are in ocean city. are people stranded? were they given evacuation orders? >> reporter: people were given evacuation orders, but a lot of people are stuck here. some of the streets are flooded. there was a main bridge that was shut down. so the weather was very intense here, and a lot of people, really, with no place to go and just having to hunker down and stay here. >> all right. tahman bradley in washington -- in ocean city this morning. you're much warmer and drier than you were yesterday. >> thank god for small favors. right? >> reporter: a lot better. as the storm blows across the northeast, there are eight nuclear power plants in the storm's weather path. the oyster creek facility in toms river had an alert after

water rose to six feet above normal. the plant, which is the oldest in the country, was already offline for maintenance, and officials there say there is no real danger. the philadelphia area also took a big hit with more than 400,000 people losing power there, and it could take a week to get all that power fully restored. wow, that's not what they want to hear. heavy rain battered the city along with winds as high as 70 miles an hour. philadelphia schools, municipal offices, and mass transit will remain shut down at least through today. also, residents in one town in new jersey who refused to evacuate had to be carried to higher ground last night. the water in weehawken had gone as high as the second story in some homes. one boy said the water was at his neck and then over his head before he was finally rescued. also a woman was taken to safety in the make-believe coffin that she had been using as a halloween decoration. a little bit of irony in that. huh. wow! >> just slightly. well, southern new england was battered by winding toppling 80 miles an hour. this house near the famous kennedy compound in hyannisport,

massachusetts, was destroyed monday afternoon. officials in massachusetts say they are relieved that the state dodged a direct hit from sandy. and aside from all the rain and the high wind, sandy also proved to be quite a snowmaker, dumping up to 3 feet of snow in seven states from the appalachians to the ohio valley. west virginia is now getting the worst of it with more than a foot falling yesterday alone. and some guys will do just about anything to catch a wave. surf's up. these guys got out their boards and their wet suits and hats, and, well, they went for it yesterday on lake erie. yes, the midwest. freshwater temperature, 56 degrees. the waves only grew as it got later in the day. some waves got as high as 15 to 20 feet. make sure you stay with us. much more of the perfect storm right after this.

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and the west coast is pitching in to help in the wake and the west coast is pitching in to help in the wake of sandy. they're heading east. their mission is to rescue stranded hurricane victims and deliver supplies to isolated communities. they will set up in a staging area in south carolina. again, this impacting people from south carolina all the way north up to main. >> but in tragedy the nation comes together. we've seen that time and time again. here we go. and probably to the surprise of absolutely no one, sandy is dominating social media. plenty of great pictures out there on facebook and twitter, and here's some that got our attention over the last few

hours. you know this place well. >> this is actually a carousel close to the brooklyn bridge. right next to the carousel there's a nice green area and a small little beach. but as you can see, it's all a beach now, and the horses are under water, not as they should be. >> and, of course, one of the problems in new york and up and down the east coast, flooded streets. i mean literally you see these streets turned into rivers. that storm surge, always so dangerous, is taking over the city. we were trying to figure out what this is. >> i think i see steps. i think these are steps down to one of the subway stations, but i'm not really sure. it's abstract art. so read into it what you want. >> leave it up to your individual interpretation. another example of flooded streets here is washington. if you look to the side of that vehicle, that's actually an nypd van out there. you see how high that water really got. >> yeah. and this is not what the new york taxi cab situation should look like there, submerged right there. >> the yellow cab, truly an icon. and moving on to other news this morning we'll be right back

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southern new england was battered by winds topping 80 miles per hour. this house near the famous finally, a dramatic rescue off north carolina in the middle of the storm. 16 people had to abandon a replica british warship. >> unfortunately one of the ship's crew did not make it and another is missing but the coast guard was able to bring the rest to safety. abc's matt gutman shows us. >> reporter: its final journey began last week as it headed for st. petersburg. the mast made its debut in the 1962 film "mutiny on the bounty," and was ready for the swashbuckler "pirates of the caribbean." but "the bounty" changed its course, abc news has learned. captain robert wahlberg moved east, hoping to avoid the brunt of sandy. the captain facebooked his reasoning saying a ship is safer at sea than at port. but 20-plus-foot waves and gale-force winds caused it to lose power. it would take hours to muster a helicopter. because of the heavy winds, it took nearly seven hours before

the coast guard chopper got to the scene. they found "the bounty's" crew 100 miles offshore, bobbing. you can see their faces peeking out. with their chopper battered in 50-mile-per-hour winds, the fuel burning fast, the first coast guard diver is lowered down. with the pilot fighting to hold above the water, rescue swimmer dan todd pulled each survivor into the water. >> i jumped in and i said, hey, i'm dan, i heard you need a ride. >> reporter: and he towed them through these mountainous waves to the chopper. survivors were hoisted up one at a time. two sailors were still missing, including the captain. this chopper headed back to continue the search. maritime safety experts told us that cruise ships should be large enough to safely navigate the swells of a storm like sandy. but when a 500-ton cruise liner was battered by heavy storms, it sank, capsizing within sight of shore. matt gutman, abc news, elizabeth city, north carolina. >> stay with us. >> for more on the latest on

sandy. >> for more on the latest on sandy. breaking overnight, the perfect storm. the east coast takes a direct hit from sandy. >> the deadly superstorm, knocking out power to millions. crippling new york city with a wall of water and a massive power outage. >> overnight, hospitals breaking overnight, the perfect storm. the east coast takes a direct hit from sandy. >> the deadly super storm knocking out power to millions, crippling with a wall of water and a massive power outage. overnight hospitals evacuated, a damaged crane dangling 90 stores up, what a long night it's been, and daylight will reveal so much more. >> a special edition of "america this morning" the perfect storm begins right now. and good morning, everyone. we begin straight away. this morning with the very latest on sandy and the historic

storm and so many waives. more than a dozen deaths are being blamed on sandy right now, and that number is likely to rise. >> some 5 million people are without power so far from all along the eastern seaboard into the midwest. today also stock markets will be closed again for a second straight day, a continuation of their first unplanned shutdown since the 9/11 attacks. and at this hour, there is breaking news from queens, new york, where as many as 50 homes have been destroyed by fire. the heavy winds are making it extremely difficult to battle the flames. nearly 200 firefighters were called to the scene trying to rescue people. no word yet on what set off those fires. >> you have to wonder if maybe downed power lines played a role. we'll see. also the outer boroughs of new york city have been hard hit as well with most areas of coney island and staten island described as being under water following sandy's record storm surge as it came ashore just to

the south in the state of new jersey. dunes and sand berms were no match for the 15-foot waves. new york's rivers surging over seawalls and into the streets of lower manhattan, flooding tunnels and forcing bridges to close in the storm. it was just too much for one apartment building in manhattan. its entire facade collapsed. already the storm damage is being estimated at up to $20 billion. all right. let's get outside right now. the streets here in new york mostly vacant. here's a look, in fact, at iconic times square. >> but city officials have been responding to a major emergency at a nearby hospital as well as trying to assess the severe flooding. abc's scott goldberg is watching it all. he's on the phone here in manhattan. good morning, scott. >> rob and paula, good morning to you. first, the emergency situation overnight. the nyu medical center here in manhattan, one of the nation's largest hospitals evacuated after the backup generator failed. more than 200 patients, including 20 babies at the neonatal intensive care unit had to be evacuated.

some patients being treated for cancer and other serious illnesses had to be carried carefully down staircases because elevators are out. we want to show you a picture from above showing the line of ambulances waiting outside the hospital. an incredible scene overnight. much of new york city plunged into darkness after an explosion at an electrical power station. no injuries reported, but it was an eerie scene as the manhattan skies went dark. it could be days before the power is fully restored because the underground power lines are so difficult to access. in the meantime at first light we'll get a first look. a record 13-foot storm surge overflowed the city's historic water flood, flooding the financial area and the subway. the city's mass transit system, schools, and stock exchange remain closed today. rob and paula, back to you. >> all right.

scott goldberg here on a wet and storm-weary new york. thanks a lot. and parts of new jersey remains under water after that monstrous storm surge along the coast. sandy made landfall, powerful surf crashed into atlantic city's famous boardwalk, washing away a 300-yard section of it. floodwaters also filled up along towns, along the popular jersey shores. they plunged into darkness. abc's steve portnoy is in the thick of things in point pleasant beach. >> reporter: the water started to overtake the dunes. at that point we felt we had to move our trucks because the water was coming in onto the streets, not just in the areas right by the beach, but actually flooding some of the city's streets. so we decided to move about a half mile away and rebase. we were broadcasting and all of a sudden the water crept up behind us there. >> now, the national guard and other firefighters spent much of the night rescuing people who refused to obey evacuation orders. >> and now sandy is plowing

further inland. >> for a look at the conditions we can expect today, accuweather meteorologist mancuso joins us now. >> good morning to you. the impact is being felt farther west. here in the midwest over toward cleveland, detroit, and even chicago is seeing strong winds. cleveland winds gusting 50 to 70 miles an hour. there could be some power outages in the midwest and rain changes to snow in the ohio valley. meanwhile back here in the east we're still dealing with sandy. the flow around it is keeping the water levels high around the coastal areas, and it does look like those waters that have moved inland will be slow to drain out with that flow moving south around the backside of sandy. the rain will taper off, but the wind gusts will stay with us throughout the day. winds today gusting, say, 30 to 50 miles an hour.

supposedly yesterday, 70 to 90-mile-an-hour wind gusts. still quite windy here. surges, though, will be a loss less today. yes, look at that. that's all rain and snow here in the midwest. that cold air spiring around the system. we've had reports of a foot plus mountains west and even p.a. about 9 inches of snow. rainfall up to 9 inches across northern portions of virginia and maryland. of course, these waters will be slow to recede the next couple of days, and we'll be watching the rivers -- watching the waters coming down the rivers the next couple of days. we're still dealing with the aftereffects. >> all about the aftermath. people are waking up and seeing all of the destruction. sounds like you said that the worst is over, but what kind of effects will we see maybe like in the country like the midwest? >> the midwest, united states, is going to be very windy, indianapolis, chicago, cleveland, detroit, cincinnati. winds gusting 30, 50 miles an

hour, even higher around detroit. and cleveland. oopz a very windy, chilly day. snow and chill in the air. parts of ohio and into kentucky we could see just a minor accumulation, but near the lakeshores, the waters will be piling up. already reports of waves of about 20 feet on lake michigan. could see some waves crashing into the shores on the south side here, 20 to 30 feet in lake michigan and also lake erie. so the midwest looking a blustery, nasty day. >> and before sandy made landfall, the big question was how is this going to compare to hurricane irene which hit in the same area last august. by any measures, this storm seemingly crushed irene. there really is no comparison, right? >> there's no comparison. i guess you could say, this is kind of like new york city's katrina. just devastating impacts here. this historic surge, 13 feet, all that water coming on in and the high wind gusts. worst-case scenario did pan out here unfortunately. >> all right.

mark mancuso from accuweather. thanks for joining us, mark. straight ahead, the airlines trying to get back to normalcy and what the red cross is doing to help out. plus, more incredible video across the storm zone, plus some rescues that didn't have to happen. we'll be right back. >> announcer: "america this morning's" weather brought to you by 5 hour energy.

mark mancuso from accuweather. >> announcer: "america this welcome back, everyone. 5 million people take the new new york city subways every day, and this morning the entire system is shut down.

seven subway tunnels under the east river are flooded, and the electricity that powers -- runs the system is turned off to contain the saltwater damage. getting the trains up and running again will be a massive undertaking. >> it could be anywhere between 14 hours to four days just to pump the water out. and then we have to, you know, inspect every inch of rail, inspect all of the infrastructure down there to make sure that we can provide safe service. so, needless to say, this is going to be a pretty lengthy process. >> now, the head of the mta says this is the worst disaster in the 108-year history of the city system. the subways and buses are out of operation indefinitely. we did that interview. there really is no concrete time line for getting the system back up and running. and as the subways go, so goes the city. that's a major, major system to deal with in the storm's aftermath. >> largest rapid transit system

-- >> -- in the country. >> yep. and there is more disruption to air travel today. flightaware.com, says 5,700 flights are canceled, most of them because of the hurricane. 7,800 didn't leave the gate yesterday. and it may take the airlines a while to recover from hurricane sandy due to the damage to the infrastructure and a lack of available seats later this week. also the red cross is mounting a massive relief effort to help the millions in the storm's path. >> earlier we spoke with public affairs officer tamara braunstein about what's being done right now. >> 3,200 people spent monday night in the shelter. we have more than 112 shelters open across nine states right now, and we are expecting that number to grow until -- we're just trying to provide emotional support and make sure people are fed and having their safety needs met, at least in the short term. >> now, the red cross is asking for both blood donations and financial contributions. for more information, you can

log on to redcross.org. and when we come back this morning, assessing the damage at eight nuclear facilities that were in sandy's path. plus, no part of the eastern seaboard was untouched from cape cod to the carolinas. we'll get a live update. stay with us. >> announcer: "america's money" brought to you by aquafresh extreme clean. get ready for a feeling of clean like nothing else. extreme clean from aquafresh. it showers your whole mouth with rich micro-active foam. thousands of germ-killing bubbles seek out hard to reach places and help kill the sources of bad breath then rinse clean away leaving a cool tingling that just won't quit extreme clean from aquafresh. take the feeling of clean to the extreme.

on gasoline. i am probably going to the gas station about once a month. last time i was at a gas station was about...i would say... two months ago. i very rarely put gas in my chevy volt. i go to the gas station such a small amount that i forget how to put gas in my car.

[ male announcer ] and it's not just these owners giving the volt high praise. volt received the j.d. power and associates appeal award two years in a row. ♪ welcome back, everybody. some breaking news now in our continuing coverage of hurricane sandy. this from the borough of queens, new york, where a fire there has destroyed at least 50 homes. no word yet on exactly what sparked the fire. strong winds, though, from the storm are making it difficult for the nearly 200 firefighters on the scene to fight those flames. we'll keep you updated throughout the morning on that developing scene. but imagine that. 50 homes.

wow! >> it's all going to be about the aftermath this morning. and ocean city, maryland, also took a major hit in this storm. abc's tahman bradley is there this morning watching things up and down the coast for us this morning. good morning, tahman. >> reporter: well, good morning to you, paula. things have actually let up a bit here in ocean city, but it's still very cold. sandy is the monster that we all feared. it's going to take days to determine the devastation. but we know that millions of americans wake up impacted. along the east coast this morning, signs of sandy's fury. lady liberty's torch is out as power outages spread. nearly 5 million people this morning are in the dark. more than 1.5 million people were forced to evacuate. sandy made landfall along the new jersey coast, bringing 80-mile-per-hour winds and flooding. high tides and rough surf battered the coastline. >> oh, my god. it's washing everything away. >> reporter: this morning, entire sections of atlantic city, new jersey, are completely under water. people who decided to ride out

the storm were left stranded last night. the new jersey governor announced no rescue services until today. >> i cannot in good conscience send them into the dark, given all the various hazards that would occur. >> reporter: new york city was hit by a 13-foot surge of seawater, flooding the newly unveiled ground zero memorial, subway stations, and tunnels. >> i'm in new york. i have never seen anything like this particularly going into a tunnel. >> reporter: in rockaway park, queens, emergency crews scrambled to rescue people trapped in the path of a fire raging out of control. in manhattan hundreds of patients at this hospital, including babies, had to be evacuated after a backup generator failed. the city closed all tunnels and bridges. subway and bus service had already been shut down. the stock exchange is closed again today, the first time weather has caused it to close for a second consecutive day since the 1800s. sandy spawned snowstorms in west virginia and fear of flooding as far west as chicago. here in ocean city we've been getting freezing rainfall on and

off, and part of the downtown area is flooded, rob and paula. >> all right. now, tahman, you are in ocean city. are there people stranded? were they given evacuation orders? >> reporter: people were given evacuation orders, but a lot of people are stuck here. some of the streets are flooded. there was a main bridge that was shut down. so the weather was very intense here, and a lot of people, really, with no place to go and just having to hunker down and stay here. >> all right. tahman bradley in washington -- rather in ocean city this morning. you're much warmer and drier than you were yesterday. >> thank god for small favors. right? >> reporter: a lot better. as the storm blows across the northeast, there are eight nuclear power plants in the storm's weather path. the oyster creek facility in toms river, new jersey, had an alert after water rose to six feet above normal. the plant, which is the oldest in the country, was already offline for maintenance, and officials there say there is no

real danger. the philadelphia area also took a big hit with more than 400,000 people losing power there, and it could take a week to get all that power fully restored. wow, that's not what they want to hear. heavy rain battered the city along with winds gusting as high as 70 miles an hour. philadelphia schools, municipal offices, and mass transit will remain shut down at least through today. also, residents in one town in new jersey who refused to evacuate had to be carried to higher ground last night. the water in weehawken had gone as high as the second story in some homes. one boy said the water was at his neck and then over his head before he was finally rescued. also a woman was taken to safety in the make-believe coffin that she had been using as a halloween decoration. a little bit of irony in that. huh. wow! >> just slightly. well, southern new england was battered by winding toppling 80 miles an hour. this house near the famous kennedy compound in hyannisport, massachusetts, was destroyed monday afternoon.

officials in massachusetts say they are relieved that the state dodged a direct hit from sandy. and aside from all the rain and the high wind, sandy also proved to be quite a snowmaker, dumping up to 3 feet of snow in seven states from the appalachians to the ohio valley. west virginia is now getting the worst of it with more than a foot falling yesterday alone. and some guys will do just about anything to catch a wave. surf's up. these guys got out their boards and their wet suits and hats, and, well, they went for it yesterday on lake erie. >> wow. >> yes, the midwest. freshwater temperature, 56 degrees. the waves only grew as it got later in the day. forecasters say some could rise between 15 to 20 feet. make sure you stay with us. much more of the perfect storm right after this.

means living with pain. it could also mean living with joint damage. help relieve the pain and stop the damage with humira, adalimumab. for many adults with moderate to severe ra, humira is clinically proven to help relieve pain and stop joint damage. so you can treat more than just the pain. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, . or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. ask your rheumatologist about humira, to help relieve pain and stop further joint damage before they stop you.

we're spreading the word about honey bunches of oats fruit blends and their unique taste combinations. like peach/raspberry. with one flavor in the granola bunch and one on the flake. two flavors. in harmony. honey bunches of oats. make your day bunches better. that's the sound of car insurance companies these days. here a cheap, there a cheap, everywhere a cheap... you get it. so, what if instead of just a cheap choice, you could make a smart choice? like, esurance for example. they were born online and built to save people money from the beginning. it's what they've always done. not just something they cheap about. that's insurance for the modern world. esurance. now backed by allstate. click or call. campbell's has 24 new soups that will make it drop over, and over again. ♪ from jammin' jerk chicken, to creamy gouda bisque. see what's new from campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do.

and the west coast is pitching in to help in the wake of sandy. members of the california's international air guard 129th western wing is heading east. their mission is to rescue stranded hurricane victims and deliver supplies to isolated communities. they will set up in a staging area in south carolina. again, this impacting people from south carolina all the way north up to main. >> but in tragedy the nation comes together. we've seen that time and time again. and here we go again. and probably to the surprise of absolutely no one, sandy is dominating social media. plenty of great pictures out there on facebook and twitter, and here's some that got our attention over the last few hours. you know this place well. >> this is actually a carousel

just -- close to the brooklyn bridge. right next to the carousel there's a nice green area and a small little beach. but as you can see, it's all a beach now, and the horses are under water, not as they should be. >> and, of course, one of the problems in new york and up and down the east coast, flooded streets. i mean literally you see these streets turned into rivers. that storm surge, always so dangerous, is taking over the city. we were trying to figure out what this is. >> i think i see steps. i think these are steps down to one of the subway stations, but i'm not really sure. it's abstract art. so read into it what you want. >> leave it up to your individual interpretation. another example of flooded streets here is washington. if you look to the side of that vehicle, that's actually an nypd van out there. you see how high that water really got. >> yeah. and this is not what the new york taxi cab situation should look like there, submerged right there. >> the yellow cab, truly an icon of this city. and moving on to other news this morning we'll be right back

with "america this morning" right after this. his morning" right after this. tonight our guest, thomas sargent. nobel laureate in economics, and one of the most cited economists in the world. professor sargent, can you tell me what cd rates will be in two years? no. if he can't, no one can. that's why ally has a raise your rate cd. ally bank. your money needs an ally. i haven't thought about aspirin for years. aspirin wouldn't really help my headache, i don't think. aspirin is just old school. people have doubts about taking aspirin for pain. but they haven't experienced extra strength bayer advanced aspirin. in fact, in a recent survey, 95% of people who tried it agreed that it relieved their headache fast. what's different? it has micro-particles. enters the bloodstream fast and rushes relief to the site of pain. visit fastreliefchallenge.com today for a special trial offer.

updating our top stories now. the afteh of updating our top stories now, the aftermath of sandy. new york city fire officials say at least 50 homes have been destroyed in one flooded area of queens, heavy winds there whipping up those flames. >> and it could be days before the new york city subway is running again. seven flooded subway tunnels will have to be pumped out and inspected. some 476,000 customers lost power. it could be a week before power is fully restored. >> a long week. also part of atlantic city history was carried away by sandy's raging waters. an old section of the city's famed boardwalk was lost to the ocean, and people are bracing for one more high tide before the coast is clear. >> southern new england also took a pounding from the storm with winds reaching 84 miles an hour. finally from us this morning, a dramatic rescue off north carolina right in the middle of the storm.

16 people had to abandon a replica british warship. >> unfortunately one of the ship's crew did not make it and another is still missing, but the coast guard was able to bring the rest to safety. abc's matt gutman shows us. >> reporter: its final journey began last week as it headed for toward its winter port in st. petersburg. the majestic three-masted tall ship made its debut in the 1962 film "mutiny on the bounty," and was ready for the swashbuckler, "pirates of the caribbean." but even before "the bounty" left connecticut, it changed its course. captain robert wahlberg moved east, hoping to avoid the brunt of sandy. the captain facebooked his reasoning. saying a ship is safer at sea than at port, but 20-plus-foot waves and gale-force winds battered the ship, causing it to lose powe because of the heavy winds, it took nearly seven hours before

that coast guard chopper got to the scene. they found "the bounty's" crew 100 miles offshore, bobbing like human corks. the waving topping 20 feet. in this covered raft, you can see their faces peeking out. with their chopper battered in 50-mile-per-hour winds, their fuel burning fast, the first fuel burning fast, the first coast guard diver is lowered down. with the pilot fighting to hold above the water, rescue swimmer dan todd pulled each survivor into the water. >> i jumped in and i said, hey, i'm dan, i heard you guys need a ride. >> reporter: and he towed them through the waves to the chopper. survivors were hoisted up one at a time. two sailors were still missing, including the captain. this chopper headed back to continue the search. maritime safety experts told us that cruise ships should be large enough to safely navigate the heavy swells of a storm like sandy, but when the oak na noose, a 7,500-ton cruise liner

was battered by heavy storms, it sank, capsizing within sight of shore. matt gutman, abc news, elizabeth city, north carolina. >> stay with us. >> for more on the latest on sandy. breaking overnight, the perfect storm. the east coast takes a direct hit from sandy. >> the deadly super storm knocking out power to millions, crippling with a wall of water and a massive power outage. overnight hospitals evacuated, a damaged crane dangling 90 stores up, what a long night it's been, and daylight will reveal so much more. >> a special edition of "america this morning: the perfect storm" begins right now. and good morning, everyone. we begin straight away. this morning with the very latest on sandy and the historic storm and so many waves.

more than a dozen deaths are being blamed on sandy right now, and that number is likely to rise. >> some 5 million people are without power so far from all along the eastern seaboard into the midwest. today also stock markets will be closed again for a second straight day, a continuation of their first unplanned shutdown since the 9/11 attacks. and at this hour, there is breaking news from queens, new york, where as many as 50 homes have been destroyed by fire. the heavy winds are making it extremely difficult to battle the flames. nearly 200 firefighters were called to the scene trying to rescue people. no word yet on what set off those fires. >> you have to wonder maybe if downed power lines played a role. we'll see. also the outer boroughs of new york city have been hard hit as well with most areas of coney island and staten island described as being under water following sandy's record storm surge as it came ashore just to the south in the state of new jersey. dunes and sand berms were no

match for the 15-foot waves. new york's rivers surging over seawalls and into the streets of lower manhattan, flooding tunnels and forcing bridges to close in the storm. it was just too much for one apartment building in manhattan. its entire facade collapsed. already the storm damage is being estimated at up to $20 billion. all right. let's get outside right now. the streets here in new york mostly vacant. here's a look, in fact, at iconic times square. >> but city officials have been responding to a major emergency at a nearby hospital as well as trying to assess the severe flooding. abc's scott goldberg is watching it all. he's on the phone here in manhattan. good morning, scott. >> reporter: paula and rob, good morning to you. first, the emergency situation overnight. the nyu medical center here in manhattan, one of the nation's largest hospitals evacuated after the backup generator failed. more than 200 patients, including 20 babies at the

neonatal intensive care unit, had to be evacuated. some patients being treated for cancer and other serious illnesses had to be carried carefully down staircases because elevators are out. we want to show you a picture from above showing the line of ambulances waiting outside the hospital. an incredible scene overnight. much of new york city plunged into darkness after an explosion at an electrical power station. no word whether flooding or flying debris caused that explosion. no injuries reported. but it was an eerie scene as the manhattan skyline went dark, and it could be several days, even a week before the power is fully restored because the underground power lines are so difficult to access. in the meantime at first light we'll get a first look. a record 13-foot storm surge overflowed the city's historic water flood, flooding the financial district and the subway. the city's mass transit system, schools, and stock exchange remain closed today. rob and paula, back to you. >> all right. scott goldberg here on a wet and

storm-weary new york. thanks a lot. and parts of new jersey remains under water after that monstrous storm surge along the coast. sandy made landfall, a potential surf -- the powerful surf crashed into atlantic city's famous boardwalk, washing away a 300-yard section of it. floodwaters also filled up along towns, along the popular jersey shores. they plunged into darkness. abc's steve portnoy is in the thick of things in point pleasant beach. >> reporter: the water started to overtake the dunes. at that point we felt we had to move our trucks because the water was coming in onto the streets, not just in the areas right by the beach, but actually flooding some of the city's streets. so we decided to move about a half mile away and rebase. we were broadcasting and all of a sudden the water crept up behind us there. >> now, the national guard and other firefighters spent much of

the night rescuing people who refused to obey evacuation orders. >> and now sandy is plowing further inland. >> for a look at the conditions we can expect today, accuweather meteorologist mark mancuso joins us now. good morning, mark. >> good morning to you guys. wow, what a whole lot of devastation in the northeast. now as the storm turns northeast, it's heading toward pennsylvania. the impact is being felt farther west. here in the midwest over toward cleveland, detroit, and even chicago is seeing strong winds. cleveland winds gusting 50 to 70 miles an hour. the lakes were all churned up over here. there could be some power outages in the midwest and rain changes to snow in the ohio valley. meanwhile back here in the east we're still dealing with sandy. the flow around it is keeping the water levels high right along the coastal areas, and it does look like those waters that have moved inland will be slow to drain out and that flow moving south around the backside of sandy. the rain will taper off, but the

wind gusts will stay with us throughout the day. winds today gusting, say, 30 to 50 miles an hour. supposedly yesterday, 70- and 90-mile-an-hour wind gusts. still quite windy here. surges, though, will be a loss less today. yes, look at that. that's all rain and snow here in the midwest. that cold air spiring around the system. we've had reports of a foot plus mountains west and even southwest p.a. about 9 inches of snow. rainfall up to 9 inches across northern portions of virginia and maryland. of course, these waters will be slow to recede the next couple of days, and we'll be watching the rivers -- watching the waters coming down the rivers the next couple of days. we're still dealing with the aftereffects. >> all about the aftermath. people are waking up and seeing all of the destruction. sounds like you said that the worst is over, but what kind of effects will we see maybe like in the country like the midwest? >> the midwest, united states,

is going to be very windy today, places like indianapolis, chicago, cleveland, detroit, cincinnati. winds gusting 30, 50 miles an hour, even higher around detroit and cleveland. a very windy, chilly day. snow and chill in the air. parts of ohio and into kentucky we could see just a minor accumulation, but near the lakeshores, the waters will be piling up. already reports of waves of about 20 feet on lake michigan. could see some waves crashing into the shores on the south side here, 20 to 30 feet in lake michigan and also lake erie. so the midwest looking a blustery, nasty day. >> and before sandy made landfall, the big question was how this is going to compare to hurricane irene, which hit last august in the same area. but by any measure, this storm seemingly crushed irene. there really is no comparison, right? >> oh, there's no comparison. i guess you could say this is kind of like new york city's katrina. just devastating impacts here. this historic surge, 13 feet, all that water coming on in and the high wind gusts. worst-case scenario did pan out here unfortunately. >> all right.

mark mancuso from accuweather. thaevg thanks for joining us this morning, mark. and straight ahead, the airlines trying to get back to normalcy and what the red cross is doing to help out. plus, more incredible video across the storm zone, plus some rescues that didn't have to happen. we'll be right back. >> announcer: "america this morning's" weather brought to you by 5 hour energy. hkjañ;ñ$x

welcome back, everyone. 5 million people take the new

york city subways every day, and this morning the entire system is shut down. seven subway tunnels under the east river are flooded, and the electricity that powers -- runs the system is turned off to contain the saltwater damage. getting the trains up and running again will be a massive undertaking. >> it could be anywhere between 14 hours to four days just to pump the water out. and then we have to, you know, inspect every inch of rail, inspect all of the infrastructure down there to make sure that we can provide safe service. so, needless to say, this is going to be a pretty lengthy process. >> now, the head of the mta says this is the worst disaster in the 108-year history of the city's system. the subways and buses are out of operation indefinitely. we did that interview. there really is no concrete time line for getting the system back up and running. and as the subways go, so goes the city. that's a major, major system to deal with in the storm's aftermath. >> largest rapid transit system -- >> -- in the country.

>> yep. and there is more disruption to air travel today. flightaware.com, says 5,700 flights are canceled, most of them because of the hurricane. 7,800 didn't leave the gate yesterday. and it may take the airlines a while to recover from hurricane sandy because of damage to infrastructure and a lack of available seats later this week. also the red cross is mounting a massive relief effort to help the millions in the storm's path. >> earlier we spoke with public affairs officer tamara braunstein about what's being done right now. >> 3,200 people spent monday night in the shelter. we have more than 112 shelters open across nine states right now, and we are expecting that number to grow until -- we're just trying to provide emotional support and make sure people are fed and having their safety needs met, at least in the short term. >> now, the red cross is asking for both blood donations and financial contributions.

for more information, you can log on to redcross.org. and when we come back this morning, assessing the damage at eight nuclear facilities that were in sandy's path. plus, no part of the eastern seaboard was untouched from cape cod to the carolinas. we'll get a live update. stay with us. >> announcer: "america's money" brought to you by aquafresh extreme clean. get ready for a feeling of clean like nothing else. extreme clean from aquafresh. it showers your whole mouth with rich micro-active foam. thousands of germ-killing bubbles seek out hard to reach places and help kill the sources of bad breath then rinse clean away leaving a cool tingling that just won't quit extreme clean from aquafresh. take the feeling of clean to the extreme.

hd 8. . i don't spend money on gasoline. i am probably going to the gas station about once a month. last time i was at a gas station was about...i would say... two months ago. i very rarely put gas in my chevy volt. i go to the gas station such a small amount that i forget how to put gas in my car.

[ male announcer ] and it's not just these owners giving the volt high praise. volt received the j.d. power and associates appeal award two years in a row. ♪ welcome back, everybody. some breaking news now in our continuing coverage of hurricane sandy. this from the borough of queens, new york, where a fire there has destroyed at least 50 homes. no word yet on exactly what sparked the fire. strong winds, though, from the storm are making it difficult for the nearly 200 firefighters on the scene to fight those flames. we'll keep you updated throughout the morning on that developing scene. but imagine that.

50 homes. wow! >> it's all going to be about the aftermath this morning. and ocean city, maryland, also took a major hit in this storm. abc's tahman bradley is there this morning watching things up and down the coast for us this at this hour. good morning, tahman. >> reporter: well, good morning to you, paula. things have actually let up a bit here in ocean city, but it's still very cold. sandy is the monster that we all feared. it's going to take days to determine the devastation. but we know that millions of americans wake up impacted. along the east coast this morning, signs of sandy's fury. lady liberty's torch is out as power outages spread. nearly 5 million people this morning are in the dark. more than 1.5 million people were forced to evacuate. sandy made landfall along the new jersey coast, bringing 80-mile-per-hour winds and flooding. high tides and rough surf battered the coastline. >> oh, my god. it's washing everything away. >> reporter: this morning, entire sections of atlantic city, new jersey, are completely under water. people who decided to ride out

the storm were left stranded last night. the new jersey governor announced no rescue services until today. >> i cannot in good conscience send them into the dark, given all the various hazards that would occur. >> reporter: new york city was hit by a 13-foot surge of seawater, flooding the newly unveiled ground zero memorial, subway stations, and tunnels. >> i'm a new yorker. i have never seen anything like this particularly going into a tunnel. >> reporter: in rockaway park, queens, emergency crews scrambled to rescue people trapped in the path of a fire raging out of control. in manhattan hundreds of patients at this hospital, including babies, had to be evacuated after a backup generator failed. the city closed all tunnels and bridges. subway and bus service had already been shut down. the stock exchange is closed again today, the first time weather has caused it to close for a second consecutive day since the 1800s. sandy spawned snowstorms in west virginia and fear of flooding as far west as chicago. here in ocean city we've been

getting freezing rainfall on and off, and part of the downtown area is flooded, rob and paula. >> all right. now, tahman, you are in ocean city. are there people stranded? were they given evacuation orders? >> reporter: people were given evacuation orders, but a lot of people are stuck here. some of the streets are flooded. there was a main bridge that was shut down. so the weather was very intense here, and a lot of people, really, with no place to go and just having to hunker down and stay here. >> all right. tahman bradley in washington -- rather in ocean city this morning. you're much warmer and drier than you were yesterday. >> thank god for small favors, right? >> reporter: a lot better. as the storm blows across the northeast, there are eight nuclear power plants in the storm's weather path. the oyster creek facility in toms river, new jersey, declared an alert after water rose to six feet above normal. the plant, which is the oldest in the country, was already offline for maintenance, and officials there say there is no

real danger. the philadelphia area also took a big hit with more than 400,000 people losing power there, and it could take a week to get all that power fully restored. wow, that's not what they want to hear. heavy rain battered the city along with winds gusting as high as 70 miles an hour. philadelphia schools, municipal offices, and mass transit will remain shut down at least through today. also, residents in one town in new jersey who refused to evacuate had to be carried to higher ground last night. the water in weehawken had gone as high as the second story in some homes. one boy said the water was at his neck and then over his head before he was finally rescued. also a woman was taken to safety in the make-believe coffin that she had been using as a halloween decoration. a little bit of irony in that. huh. wow! >> just slightly. well, southern new england wise battered by winds topping 80 miles an hour.

this house near the famous kennedy compound in hyannisport, massachusetts, was destroyed monday afternoon. officials in massachusetts say they are relieved that the state dodged a direct hit from sandy. and aside from all the rain and the high wind, sandy also proved to be quite a snowmaker, dumping up to 3 feet of snow in seven states from the appalachians to the ohio valley. west virginia is now getting the worst of it with more than a foot falling yesterday alone. and some guys will do just about anything to catch a wave. surf's up. these guys got out their boards and their wet suits and hats, and, well, they went for it yesterday on lake erie. >> wow. >> yes, the midwest. freshwater temperature, 56 degrees. the waves only grew as it got later in the day. forecasters said some could rise between 15 and 20 feet. make sure you stay with us. much more of the perfect storm right after this.

means living with pain. it could also mean living with joint damage. help relieve the pain and stop the damage with humira, adalimumab. for many adults with moderate to severe ra, humira is clinically proven to help relieve pain and stop joint damage. so you can treat more than just the pain. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, . or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. ask your rheumatologist about humira, to help relieve pain and stop further joint damage before they stop you.

we're spreading the word about honey bunches of oats fruit blends and their unique taste combinations. like peach/raspberry. with one flavor in the granola bunch and one on the flake. two flavors. in harmony. honey bunches of oats. make your day bunches better. that's the sound of car insurance companies these days. here a cheap, there a cheap, everywhere a cheap... you get it. so, what if instead of just a cheap choice, you could make a smart choice? like, esurance for example. they were born online and built to save people money from the beginning. it's what they've always done. not just something they cheap about. that's insurance for the modern world. esurance. now backed by allstate. click or call. campbell's has 24 new soups that will make it drop over, and over again. ♪ from jammin' jerk chicken, to creamy gouda bisque. see what's new from campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do.

and the west coast is pitching in to help in the wake of sandy. members of the california's international air guard's 129th western wing is heading east. their mission is to rescue stranded hurricane victims and deliver supplies to isolated communities. they will set up in a staging area in south carolina. again, this impacting people from south carolina all the way north up to maine. >> but in tragedy the nation comes together. we've seen that time and time again. and here we go again. and probably to the surprise of absolutely no one, sandy is dominating social media. plenty of great pictures out there on facebook and twitter, and here's some that got our attention over the last few hours. you know this place well.

>> this is actually a carousel just -- close to the brooklyn bridge. right next to the carousel there's a nice green area and a small little beach. but as you can see, it's all a beach now, and the horses are under water, not as they should be. >> and, of course, one of the big problems here in new york and up and down the east coast, flooded streets. i mean literally you see these streets turned into rivers. that storm surge, always so dangerous, is taking over the city. we were trying to figure out what this is. >> i think i see steps. i think these are steps down to one of the subway stations, but i'm not really sure. it's abstract art. so read into it what you want. >> leave it up to your individual interpretation. >> that's exactly. >> -- on that one. another example of flooded streets here is washington. if you look to the side of that vehicle, that's actually an nypd van out there. you see how high that water really got. >> yeah. and this is not what the new york taxi cab situation should

look like there, submerged right there. >> the yellow cab, truly an icon of this city. and moving on to other news this morning we'll be right back with "america this morning" right after this. nobel laureate in economics, and one of the most cited economists in the world. . cdbe in ars?l no. if he can't, no one can. that's why ally has a raise your rate cd. ally bank. your money needs an ally. i haven't thought about aspirin for years. aspirin wouldn't really help my headache, i don't think. aspirin is just old school. people have doubts about taking aspirin for pain. but they haven't experienced extra strength bayer advanced aspirin. in fact, in a recent survey, 95% of people who tried it agreed that it relieved their headache fast. what's different? it has micro-particles. enters the bloodstream fast and rushes relief to the site of pain. visit fastreliefchallenge.com today for a special trial offer.

updating our top stories now. the aftermath of sandy. new york city fire officials say updating our top stories now, the aftermath of sandy. new york city fire officials say at least 50 homes have been destroyed in one flooded area of queens, heavy winds there whipping up those flames. >> and it could be days before the new york city subway is running again. seven flooded subway tunnels will have to be pumped out and inspected. some 476,000 customers lost power. it could be a week before power is fully restored. >> a long week. also part of atlantic city history was carried away by sandy's raging waters. an old section of the city's famed boardwalk was lost to the ocean, and people are bracing for one more high tide before the coast is clear. >> southern new england also took a pounding from the storm with winds reaching 84 miles an hour. finally from us this morning a dramatic rescue off north carolina in the middle of the storm.

16 people had to abandon a replica british warship. >> unfortunately one of the ship's crew did not make it and another is still missing, but the coast guard was able to bring the rest to safety. abc's matt gutman shows us. >> reporter: its final journey began last week as it headed for toward its winter port in st. petersburg. the majestic three-mastered tall ship made its debut in the 1962 film "mutiny on the bounty," and was ready for the swashbuckler, "pirates of the caribbean." but even before "the bounty" left connecticut, it changed its course. captain robert wahlberg moved east, hoping to avoid the brunt of sandy. the captain facebooked his reasoning, saying a ship is safer at sea than at port, but 20-plus-foot waves and gale-force winds battered the ship, causing it to lose power. because of the heavy winds, it took nearly seven hours before that coast guard chopper got to the scene. they found "the bounty's" crew

100 miles offshore, bobbing like human corks. the waves topping 20 feet. in this covered raft, you can see their faces peeking out. with their chopper battered in 50-mile-per-hour winds, their fuel burning fast, the first coast guard diver is lowered down. with the pilot fighting to hold above the water, rescue swimmer dan todd pulled each survivor into the water. >> i jumped in and i said, hey, i'm dan, i heard you guys need a ride. >> reporter: and he towed them through the mountainous waves to the chopper. survivors were hoisted up one at a time. two sailors were still missing, including the captain. this chopper headed back to continue the search. maritime safety experts told us that cruise ships should be large enough to safely navigate the heavy swells of a storm like sandy, but what a 7,500-ton cruise liner was battered by heavy storms, it sank, capsizing within sight of shore.